RismadarVoice Reporters, August 18, 2026
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has attributed Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the August 15 Osun State governorship election to President Bola Tinubu’s decision to allow the poll to be conducted freely and fairly.
Speaking during an inspection of flood-affected areas in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike dismissed allegations that the Federal Government manipulated the election, arguing that the result demonstrated that the Tinubu administration did not use federal power to influence the outcome.
Wike pointed to Tinubu’s post-election congratulatory call to Adeleke as evidence that the President accepted the result.
“If Tinubu did not allow a free and fair election, would they have won? No!”
The minister also rejected claims that the Federal Government routinely deploys its influence to determine election outcomes, citing his own experience of surviving what he described as “federal might” during previous political contests.
He urged commentators not to automatically interpret the outcome of an off-cycle governorship election as a prediction of the 2027 presidential election, stressing that the two contests have different dynamics.
In the Osun election, Adeleke defeated APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji with 511,067 votes to 444,815, a winning margin of 66,252 votes. Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
Wike’s comments come amid growing political debate over the implications of the Osun result for the 2027 elections and the strength of the opposition against the Tinubu administration.
The minister also used the inspection tour to address flooding in the FCT, arguing that the issue should not be politicised and reiterating that government officials, developers and residents all have responsibilities in preventing flooding.
He maintained that many structures obstructing waterways were built by wealthy Nigerians and had existed for years, rather than being the responsibility of poor residents.
